Society in the Early - PowerPoint Presentation

Society in the Early Modern Period

Medieval viewpoints of women (based on Biblical tropes) Eve ‘the seductress” Mary “the Virgin Madonna”

querelle des femmes“the woman question” Renaissance Upper-class women increasingly literateChristine de Pisan Disagreed with Aristotle that women were passive and inferior.Both men and women have souls and were created in God’s image Attempted to educate women of all estates But lesson was to still support their men Isabella d’Esteled Mantua in husband’s absenceart patronstarted school for girls Baladassare CastiglioneCourtly women are equal intellectually but should always remain “feminine”

querelle des femmes“the woman question” Reformation Protestants reject Biblical tropes Women celebrated as wives and mothersFemale literacy increasesEducation encouraged as women should interpret the Bible for themselves But found scriptural support for: Subservience of women Silence of women Women allowed some rightsMore grounds for divorce allowed Peasantry Some have argued that peasant women enjoyed more equality because of economic contribution? But still legally controlled by either husband or father

Early Modern Misogyny: Witch hunts/panics Witch hunts 70,000 – 100,000 executed Misogyny (hatred of women)80 % of victims are women Mostly single women over 40.Widows (“angry”, “needy”)Midwives (blamed for unsuccessful pregnancies/births)Herbalists, folk healersClergy/princes view “cunning folk” as a threat to their control over rural life.Malleus Maleficarum 2nd best seller after Bible More women are witches because they are weak and easily swayed Title is in the feminine Reformation destabilizes society

Family Structure & Family Economy

Family Structure Most Europeans lived in rural areas Family = basic unit of production/consumptionAll goods/income to the benefit of household People lived within a household because It was virtually impossible for ordinary people to support themselves independentlyFamily Economy and Structure differed between Western and Eastern Europe

Western European householdsHousehold consisted of a married couple, their children thru early teen years and servants usually not more than 5-6 memberspeople married relatively late Men were over 26, Women were over 23, Why?need time to acquire assets necessary to start household results in lower birth rates wealthier classes marry earlier employ “wet nurses”“nuclear” rather than “extended” or “joint” Due to high mortality rates AND late marriages rarely did more than two generations of a family live under the same roof But often second-families did (widows/half/steps)

La Nain Brothers Peasant Family in an Interior (c. 1642)

Women & Children in Western Europe Women Marriage = economic necessityOnce married, worked to make money or engaged in subsistence farming to provide for the household. Bearing and rearing children usually subordinateOnly aristocratic women and those in religious orders could successfully live outside this pattern (20% never marry) Children Childbirth is dangerous, IMR is high Big families not always wantedInfanticidenursing serves as birth controlmany abandoned children (unwanted, illegitimate)“foundling” hospitals (most children die by age ten) Although upper-classes educate their children for new economy most children remain uneducated/illiterate Childhood starts to be recognized as separate phase of maturityPre-modern era saw children as mini-adults

Western European FamilyEconomy Subsistence farming Growing food or other products that could be exchanged for foodUsually not enough landFamily members might labor outside for wages Often, women and children left behind to maintain household while father migrated for work.Urban artisans Relied on family as apprentices, shopkeepers Death of father could devastate Western European family!!! Not so much in the East because of multigenerational and extended nature of the family there.

Subsistence Farming

Eastern European serfdom Serfdom Peasants tied legally to the land Exploited and abusedLandowners exercise judicial rights over serfsBasically slaveryDeclined in Western Europe after Black Death

Eastern Europe Both men and women usually married before the age of twenty (lower avg. age)near universal rates of marriage high birthrates coupled with high death rates marriage involved expanding on an already established family, rather than starting a new householdlarge, multi-generational households generally larger than West “extended” family due to early marriage, it was possible to have three or more generations of family living together

“Western European Marriage Pattern” Hajnal Line

Social Control in the Early Modern Period Social dislocation, coupled with the shifting authority of religious institutions during the Reformation, left city governments with the task of regulating public morals. Calvin’s GenevaBan cards, dice, profanity, blasphemy, excessive drinking and all holidays except Sunday. Public shaming Cucking stools, pillory/stocks Charivari (shiv- ar-eeee)Noisy mock parade to express disapproval of the violation of community norms

Public Shaming pillory/stocks charivari skimmington ride

Popular Culture Festivals Southern Europe, Catholic regions correspond with local patron Saint’s daysCarnivalbacchanal involved feasting, drinking and other activities before abstaining for Lent. TavernsServed as social and small business function for lower classes